Law Times

May 1, 2017

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Page 16 May 1, 2017 • Law TiMes www.lawtimesnews.com OBA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE Paul Jonathan Saguil is among a group of lawyers being recog- nized by the Ontario Bar Asso- ciation for their contributions to the practice of law in the province. Saguil, of TD Bank Financial Group, will receive the OBA's Heather McArthur Memo- rial Young Lawyers Award for his "exceptional" contributions to the development of equality rights jurisprudence and to legis- lative and policy reform to benefit members of equity-seeking groups, said the OBA in a press release. "I stand here with and because of many others who have paved the way and who keep fighting the good fight," says Saguil. "Although we celebrate what we have collectively accomplished thus far in trying to, for example, address challenges faced by racial- ized licensees, keep legal education and the justice system acces- sible and inclusive, and strengthen the protections available for the LGBTQ2S communities and other vulnerable groups, we still have a long way to go in making this profession and this country truly more just and equitable and we cannot afford to become complacent." Other award recipients include: Christopher Arthur W. Bentley of the Ryerson University Law Practice Program, Craig R. Carter of Fasken Martineau and Orlando V. Da Silva of the Ministry of Attor- ney General, who are winners of the OBA's Award for Distinguished Service; C. Katie Black, judicial affairs advisor to the minister of Justice and attorney general of Canada, winner of the inaugural David Scott, Q.C., Award for Pro Bono Law; and Sarah Clarke, Sébas- tien Grammond, Anne Levesque and David Taylor, winners of the OBA's President's Award for their work representing the First Na- tions Child and Family Caring Society, pro bono, in its efforts to secure equality for First Nations children in Canada. FORMER AG TO SPEAK AT MLST DINNER Michael J. Bryant will be the guest speaker at the annual meeting and dinner of the Med- ico-Legal Society of Toronto, to be held May 17 in Toronto. Addiction Verdiction for the Medio-legal Practitioner will be the theme of the speech by Bry- ant, who served as Ontario's at- torney general from 2003 to 2007. The evening will also in- clude the presentation of the 2017 Medico-Legal Society Award, the society's highest honour, to Dr. Laura Haw- ryluck, associate professor of critical care medicine at the Uni- versity of Toronto. NEW FUNDING FOR FAMILY LAW IDEAS The Law Foundation of On- tario opened a new call for ap- plications to fund innovative legal projects in the area of fam- ily law through its national Ac- cess to Justice Fund. The call for applications includes one round for small grants of less than $15,000 and one round for major grants of up to $250,000. The deadlines for applications are June 30 and Oct. 2, respectively. Full details can be found at: lawfoundation.on.ca. 59 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 41 % LAW TIMES POLL In a recent report, Justice Michael Tulloch said there is "no reason" why the director of the province's Special Investiga- tions Unit needs to be a lawyer. We asked readers if they agreed with Tulloch. Forty-one per cent said yes, there is no reason why the head of the SIU needs to be a lawyer, especially given that this is not a requirement in other places, while 59 per cent said no, the role requires a specialized knowledge of criminal investiga- tions and the professional exper- tise a lawyer brings. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story WAS THE FRAUD IN AUSTRIA OR AUSTRALIA? SYDNEY — Checking for spelling is impor- tant, as Airbus discovered last week, according to Reuters. The Financial Times, citing fine print in the aircraft manufacturer's 2016 financial accounts, reported on April 24 that Airbus was being in- vestigated by authorities in Australia for offenc- es such as bribery or fraud. The Airbus accounts did indeed say Austra- lia, but a company spokesman said that was, in fact, a typographical error. "It should read Austria and not Australia," he said. In February, Airbus said prosecutors in Vi- enna had initiated a formal criminal investiga- tion against Airbus and the Eurofighter consor- tium over alleged fraud related to a US$2-billion order for the combat jet more than a decade ago. The Airbus spokesman was unable to say whether his company planned to file a new set of accounts with regulators — without the geo- graphical gaffe, reports Reuters. WHAT'S IN A NAME? ATLANTA — Georgia officials have granted a couple's request to issue a birth certificate giv- ing their toddler daughter the surname "Allah" after earlier refusing to do so because neither parent has that name, reports Reuters. The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought a lawsuit, called the decision a victory for free expression, but an official with the larg- est U.S. Muslim advocacy group criticized the choice to use the Arabic word for "God" as cul- turally insensitive. ZalyKha Graceful Lorraina Allah was born in Atlanta to parents Elizabeth Handy and Bilal Walk, who waited about a year before seeking a birth certificate for the child. While they had no difficulties obtaining birth certificates for their older children, who also have the surname "Allah," a clerk for the Georgia Department of Health blocked the re- quest for the youngest child. Last month, the ACLU filed suit in state court against the leaders of the state department of health and the state office of vital records to compel them to allow the surname chosen by the parents. Georgia law requires that clerks allow any name chosen by the parents as long as it is not provocative or offensive, the ACLU told Reuters. The department relented on April 21, and the ACLU dropped the suit. Nihad Awad, national director for the Coun- cil on American-Islamic Relations, said using "Allah" as a stand-alone surname was not cul- turally acceptable. The ACLU said it did not know if the couple was Muslim but that the question was legally irrelevant. "This is an important vindication of parental rights," Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, said in a statement. "No one wants to live in a world where the government can dictate what you can and cannot name your child." RHINO JOINS DATING SITE NAIROBI — Worried that poachers might try to kill the world's last male white northern rhino, his keepers have discovered a unique way to find him a mate in hopes of preserving the species — they've given him a profile on Tinder. "I don't mean to be too forward, but the fate of my species literally depends on me," reads Sudan's profile. "I perform well under pressure. I like to eat grass and chill in the mud. No prob- lems. 6 ft tall and 5,000 pounds if it matters." Conservationists are hoping that Sudan's profile on the dating app will help them raise enough money for a US$9-million fertility treatment as all attempts at getting him to mate naturally have failed, according to Reuters. Poachers sell northern white rhino horns for US$50,000 per kilogram and his keepers fear that Sudan, who at 43 is ancient for a rhino, may die or be killed before they can raise enough money. LT Paul Jonathan Saguil will receive the Ontario Bar Association's Heather McArthur Memorial Young Lawyers Award. "Dr. Hornenbeagle, would you please state your qualifications to testify in this court as an expert witness on the subject of everything." LEGALFEEDS.CA POWERED BY MAJOR COURT RULINGS • DAILY UPDATES NEWS ROUNDUP • EVENTS NEWS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Untitled-3 1 2017-04-25 2:40 PM

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